Teaching Assistant (TA) Information

The principal duty of a TA is to help faculty with the conduct and delivery of courses. Services provided by teaching assistants include, but are not limited to, grading, monitoring, leading lab and/or discussion sessions, offering office hour assistance to students, and performing clerical tasks associated with course instruction. Some teaching assistants in the UT School of Architecture provide support to the resource centers, such as the Visual Resources Collection, the Materials Lab, and the Computer Lab.

Teaching Assistants are supervised by the course instructor of record and are subject to established departmental policies on student academic employment. Interested parties should complete a TA application for consideration.

SOA TA APPLICATIONS

TA applications are distributed via the School of Architecture student listserv and reviewed twice per year. Spring semester applications usually open in mid-October. Summer and fall semester applications usually open in mid-April.

Be a degree-seeking graduate student who is making satisfactory progress toward a graduate degree without existing conditional admission requirements imposed by the Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies.

Remain registered for at least nine (9) semester hours of course work in the long semesters (enrollment in three (3) semester hours of course work is required for students holding summer assignments). This does not include enrollment in University Extension courses.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

International students must pass the International Teaching Assistant English Certification (ITA) before submitting a TA application to be eligible to apply for a TA position. Contact the Graduate Admissions and Scholarship Coordinator if you wish to register to take the ITA test. Please also see the Social Security Number requirement listed below.

A Social Security Number (SSN) is needed to facilitate employment in the U.S., including student employment, and to file a U.S. tax return. Please refer to the International Office to determine your SSN eligibility and for instructions on how to obtain one. Please note that it may take 4 - 6 weeks to receive your SSN.

DATES OF EMPLOYMENT

TA assignments are made on a per-semester basis. Fall dates are September 1-January 15; dates for spring are January 16-May 31; dates for summer are June 1-July 15 and July 16-August 31. Graduating international students may not work past the last class day of their final semester due to visa regulations, unless they have obtained an extension of work authorization through the International Office.

HOURS

Graduate students may work no more than 20 hrs/wk in the first two long-semesters of study at the university, and no more than 30 hrs/wk in any combination of assignments after the first year. Students may work up to an average of 30 hours/week during the 12-week summer period. International students may work up to 20 hrs/wk during the fall and spring semesters, and up to an average of 30 hrs/wk during the 12-week summer period.

PAY

TAs are paid monthly at the standard rate set by the School of Architecture in conjunction with HR guidelines. The rates are $4,529/semester for appointments of 20 hrs/wk and $2,264/semester for appointments of 10 hrs/wk. Summer rates are $1,480/session for appointments of 20 hrs/wk and $740/session for appointments of 10 hrs/wk.

BENEFITS AND RESIDENT TUITION

Students assigned at least 20 hours per week to a single TA assignment or to a combination of eligible titles (GRA, TA, AI, Assistant (Graduate), etc.) totaling 20 hours per week, and for at least 4.5 consecutive months (usually one long semester), are eligible for basic insurance benefits. Dental, vision, coverage of eligible dependents, and other optional/elective benefits are available at an additional cost to the student, and must be signed up for within the first 31 days of employment. A graduate student employee insurance orientation is available through UT Learn.

Students employed as TAs receive atuition reduction benefit as part of their student academic employment. The assistance amount is based on the number of hours of the TA/AI appointment and is paid on a semester basis.